Artist Window – In the last thirty minutes, I’ve done more work on painting than I have in several months. It is just an amazing feeling to be in that place and now I know why I’ve been so agitated the last few days.
I started with a very recent inspiration of the trees reaching into a night sky. Yesterday, I pushed paint around, even the underpainting was flat and not much character or interest.
Today I found the spark and just immediately the clear image of the painting became crystal clear. This was actually 100% from memory but so quickly, I knew every bit and star that needed to be placed.
Suddenly a flat underpainting becomes a sky full of depth and twinkling stars. There is a house in the image which will have the one lit window for a little mystery. The sky in the distance is still a bit tinged with red from the sunset.
Next, I picked up the image of the fisherman standing on the edge of light. Again the clarity of the image and exactly what light and dark needed to be was so clear and concise to me.
After about twenty minutes on that painting I got back to a barely discernible image of “At the Fair” a painting that has been sketched and clearly in my mind for several months.
There are going to be lots of people in this particular painting and the tents and energy of the state fair-it is generic because there is an unfortunate scene in the foreground-planning on making it subtle but you’ll see when it is finished.
I finally got back to Petit Jean waterfall and I knew where to put the sheen on the water and how to make the waterfall not a thick heavy blob but a group of spaces and shadows denoting the movement. Still not completely done but getting so much closer.
It is incredible when the creative mind allows just a glimpse of creativity and how rich and perfect the view is. The artist needs to work quickly to capture all of the information that is so often cryptic.
I just saw two more images that are going to be fast tracked-my son’s dog Ranger- I saw him in a dark background and just a small element of his beautiful markings are lit. I am very excited about this one because the image is so clear. The whole body of the dog will be in movement and blurred except the eyes and the markings.
I also have a photo of my son and grandson which I plan on painting, the reason, besides the obvious, it is a very graphic basic image and I”m excited to capture the moment. I am excited to see where this series is going and I am so excited to be in the process of thinking and seeing creatively.